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Elderly Aged 85-Plus Lead Population Gain for Older Americans Since 2000

We are living longer and it shows in new Census Bureau Report

March 10, 2005 – New population estimates were released today by the U.S. Census Bureau that show clearly the growth in the senior citizen population is due to the longer life of Americans. The new estimates for July 1, 2004 show the number of Americans 85 and older increased by 14.6 percent since the 2000 census. All persons 65 and older increased by only 3.72% and the total population grew by 4.35 percent.

The percentage of the total population that is 65 or older actually declined in 2004 from 2000. It was 12.43 in 2000 and down to 12.36 in 2004. Those super seniors 85 and up, however, increased their percentage of the total – going from only 1.51 percent in 2000 to 1.65 in 2004.

Interestingly, the group of those 65 through 84 increased by only 2.22 percent since the census, while the 85 and up crowd was growing 14.62 percent.

For more charts of older population by state - Click Here

The states with the largest percentage gain in super seniors (85+) were Hawaii, 44.3; Nevada, 41.27; Alaska, 32.95; Connecticut, 27.7, and Rhode Island, 25.82. Florida, often considered the haven of older Americans, was below the national average with a gain of 14.57 percent. The largest number gain was in California, where super seniors grew by 88,354 – a 20.75 percent jump.

This census report focused on the population changes between the estimates for July 1, 2003 and July 1, 2004. Texas added the highest number of adult residents since 2003 (330,000), followed by Florida (324,000) and California (308,000). Nationally, the adult population rose by 2.6 million.

Following are some of the highlights for this period.

Older Population (age 65 and older):

• California had the highest number of people 65 and older (3.8 million) in 2004, followed by Florida (2.9 million), New York (2.5 million), Texas (2.2 million), Pennsylvania (1.9 million), Ohio (1.5 million) and Illinois (1.5 million).

• California added the highest number of people 65 and older (57,000) between 2003 and 2004, followed by Texas (37,000) and Floridda (32,000). Nationally, this age group showed an increase of 351,000 people.

• Nevada (4.2 percent) and Alaska (3.8 percent) experienced the highest rate of increase in people 65 and older from 2003 to 2004.

• Florida had the highest proportions of its total population in the 65 and older age group (16.8 percent), followed by West Virginia and Pennsylvania (15.3 percent each) and North Dakota and Iowa (14.7 percent each).

• The number of people age 65 and older in Puerto Rico increased by 2.9 percent from 2003 to 2004.

Elementary School-Age Children (ages 5 through 13)

• The number of elementary school-age children (ages 5 through 13) declined by 381,000.

• California had the highest total of elementary school-age children (4.8 million) in 2004, followed by Texas (3.1 million), New York (2.3 million), Florida (2.0 million) and Illinois (1.6 million). Nationally, there were 36.4 million children in this age group.

• Only six states experienced an increase in their elementary school-age population between 2003 and 2004. Arizona (8,400), Nevada (7,500) and Florida (7,100) led the way, with North Carolina, Colorado and Georgia rounding out the list.

• Nevada, at 2.5 percent, led the nation in the rate of increase in the elementary school-age population from 2003 to 2004. Arizona (1.1 percent) followed. Nationally, the number of children of these ages declined by 1.0 percent.

• Utah had the highest proportion of its total population in this age group in 2004 (14.9 percent), followed by Alaska (14.1 percent).

• Puerto Rico’s elementary school-age population declined by 0.8 percent between 2003 and 2004.

High School-Age Children (ages 14 through 17)

• The number of  high school-age persons (ages 14 through 17) increased by 329,000.

• California had the highest number of high school-age children (2.1 million) in 2004, followed by Texas (1.4 million), New York (1.1 million), Florida (933,000), Illinois (728,000) and Pennsylvania (701,000). The total nationally was 16.8 million.

• More than two-thirds of the states experienced an increase in their high school-age population between 2003 and 2004, led by California (78,000), Florida (33,000) and New York (24,000).

• Nevada saw its high school-age population climb by a nation-leading 6.2 percent from 2003 to 2004. It was followed by the District of Columbia (5.2 percent). Nationally, this age group experienced a 2.0 percent increase in its population.

• Puerto Rico’s population, ages 14 to 17, declined 0.4 percent between 2003 and 2004.

Adult Population (age 18 and older)

• The number of adults in the 18 and older age group increased by 2.6 million.

• California had the highest number of adult residents (26.3 million) in 2004, followed by Texas (16.2 million), New York (14.7 million), Florida (13.4 million), Pennsylvania (9.6 million) and Illinois (9.5 million).

• Texas added the highest number of adult residents since 2003 (330,000), followed by Florida (324,000) and California (308,000). Nationally, the adult population rose by 2.6 million.

• Puerto Rico’s adult population increased by 31,000 between 2003 and 2004.

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